My computer broke, and it took me a month to fix it. My roommate (who is the best) had a spare laptop because his computer broke during the beginning of the year and he figured it would be good to have around. So he lent it to me. Which both saved my academic life and allowed me to forgo fixing mine. Which is why I haven't updated.

Long story short. February and the beginning of March were incredibly hard for me. I was (and am) having trouble with my studio mates. They're good people generally, but something developed that wasn't so ... kosher. They've gotten somewhat clique-y and I've been feeling entirely ostracized by some. They don't mean to do it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

Also, we're too close. It's past friendship and moved into brother/sister relationships. I guess familiarity really does breed contempt.

My mom came out for Spring Break, which really saved my hide. She helped put me back together, even gave me a new coat of paint. I'm so grateful for my family.

Second Year Projects will happen in a little more than a month (!). I'm nervous, but pretty happy with my idea. They record them, so instead of writing about what I'll be doing, I'll just show any interested parties.

Walk, the Taylor Mac piece, is really great. Rehearsals have been a blast and the cast is really closely-knit already, which is a nice change from Studio.

:)

Death and Capitalism

Alexander McQueen died today. Apparently is was suicide.

I'm selling a blazer on eBay. It's McQueen. There had only been one bid on it yesterday. Today, it's up to $105.50. I bought it on eBay for $100.

I'm profiting from this man's death. It feels odd.

He was a genius and his presence in the art world will be missed.

I would embed a YouTube video of one of his collections, but they were all incredible and one can't be singled out over the others.

RIP Lee.

Today was wonderful.

I woke to a blizzard, snow pounding the streets out my window. I prayed for an email alerting me of NYU's closing due to the heavy snowfall. No dice.

So I dressed and made my way to Studio.

Our first class, the aforementioned acting one that was (and still is) kicking my ass, started out with some sound-and-movement and evolved into something a little unexplainable ... I'd rather speak to you about it than write about it, so don't hesitate to ask if you're interested. Anyway, after we finished that, we went to Washington Square Park and had this enormous snowball fight, teacher included. It was one of those remarkable, chance things. Everyone, and I mean everyone, loved it.

After that, we went our separate ways. Voice class had been cancelled since our instructor lives outside the city and couldn't make her way in due to dangerous roads and all that. I went out and bought some dumplings and sesame pancakes at this dilapidated little restaurant in Chinatown and came back to my apartment.

After doing the requisite Facebook check, I logged onto my Gmail account and there it was, a little message whose subject line read: Early Closing Due to Winter Weather. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

Some good (and slightly belated) news.

I'm in a show. An ETW mainstage, which is great. Even greater is that it's written by Taylor Mac and directed by Paul Zimet. This is an incredible opportunity and I'm really excited. It doesn't start rehearsing until Spring Break, so I have ample time to loaf around, doing absolutely nothing of real importance.

At the end of this year, all ETW second-years have to plan, produce, and perform their own ten minute piece. These are aptly titled "Second-Year Projects." I am terrified. In a good way. I want to accomplish so much, but I have to remember that it's ten minutes. I certainly can't fit my whole life into that. So much of my free time (prior to Walk, which is the Taylor Mac show) will be devoted to working out my ideas into something tangible.

Classes are good. I'm really loving voice - singing becomes more and more enjoyable with each class. I think I'm opening to the idea that my voice can grow and change and sound like something other than a dying cat.

Acting is kicking my ass. We're working with Raina Von Waldenburg, a protégé of sorts of Jerzy Growtowski's main actor, Ryszard Cieslak. It's a very physical approach to acting and doesn't allow for much thought, which is really good. It works from pure impulse. I'm struggling, but that's essential. If I didn't I wouldn't be learning.

So. There it is.

Well, this was a rousing success.

All right. New deal. I'll update. As much as I can. Keep me honest on Facebook. Don't hesitate to give me shit. I'll understand.

There's not much to say at the moment, but the semester is young. I'll keep you posted.

I have been awful about updating this lately.

So, a brief update.

Studio is going really well. Meisner has opened me up in ways I didn't think possible. I'm much less frightened and very thankful for that. Afro-Haitian is great and Pat, the instructor, is this phenomenal woman. She's a grandmother, but looks maybe 45 at the oldest.

Boys are nonexistent.

Getting things back in place after the wallet debacle is annoying, but completely necessary.

Rehearsal is good and I'm super excited for the show to go up. That's really all I have about now.

I will post something soon, I promise.

I've just been very busy...

In other news, I'm the proud owner of a Dries Van Noten snakeskin print suit. Pics to come.

Had Trader Joe's puttanesca with capellini and wilted spinach for dinner. Fig newtons for dessert.

Watched Modern Family and liked it.

It wasn't such a bad day.

Addendum: My bed is the most wonderful thing. I turn the air conditioning on really high and curl up underneath this big gray flannel comforter. It's so good.

Po-Po

I filed a police report yesterday. Bizarre, really.

It was fine, not stressful or degrading. Not that it should be.

And thankfully, my friends Jenny and Blair were there. And we had a lovely dinner afterwards.

I think my last post was too dramatic, but I know I tend towards the hyperbolic, so it's just me being me.

Not having money mostly sucks, but there's some oddly freeing quality to it. I don't know, it's like I don't have to care or feel responsible for it or feel burdened by it.

On the up and up, I may be able to recover all of the money taken. Well, not recover so much as be reimbursed. Which is nice. I realized that I actually worked for that money, and to have 15 hours of my life taken sucks, so to be given it back would be more than I could hope.

I'm generally good. Hungry all the time mostly. Growth spurt? Probably not. But wouldn't it be nice?

In Which Colin Plays Victim for the Umpteenth Time

Someone stole my wallet the night before last.

Just typing it makes me feel threatened.

They charged ninety dollars in subway tickets on both of my cards. I think I'll be reimbursed for the most part.

I had a fifty dollar Best Buy gift card that was a graduation present from my childhood therapist in there as well.

And my driver's license.

They took it, without remorse or a guilty conscience. They took it and left me without any real way to pay for things. They took it and left me feeling violated, invaded, and helpless.

But it'll be fine, I know. I'm safe, I'm well, and it'll be fine.

I put a block on the card to my checking account and cancelled the other card.

I had taken out the cash prior to leaving my dorm that night.

I still have my phone and my iPod and my camera.

I feel like I'm moving through water; something more viscous than air, but not yet solid. Something with just enough resistance to prove frustrating.

And as I move through this water, I am trying, trying as best as I can, to hold my breath, and not to give up.

My Ideal Man

It's been weird lately. I don't know. I've been emotional and confused and generally messed up by this God-forsaken sickness that just won't leave me the fuck alone.

Back to Air-Born and Emergen-C I guess.

Anyway. My emotions have been taking their toll lately - I'm tired and pissy and generally defeated. Which is not a good way to go through life. So I'm working on not being those things and focusing my energy on being happy and maybe just a little bit productive.

I had my first rehearsal for The Pillowman last night. It's gonna be a great show. I'm so, so excited. The work that I've put in already is astounding. Jenna, the director, is really putting me through my paces; making me think and move in new, foreign, sometimes uncomfortable ways. It's so good for me.

I've been debating whether or not to write about this, but it's such an essential part of my life. I hate the way I am around guys. It's generally pathetic and cold and aloof and scared. I don't know how to approach them, I don't know how to behave around them. I'm a fish out of water, flailing my way towards dry death. It's bad. Real bad. And I'm not sure how to work on it. Whitney? Whitney, you wanna offer me some sage advice so that your Mommy can bring the girls home a new Daddy?

Here's the what's what.

I am sick. Not swine-flu sick, thankfully, but sick nonetheless. It's not so debilitating that I can't go to class, but it does make me a wee bit loopy.

I auditioned for three shows. I heard nothing back from one, got a callback for the second, and am in the third. Which is exciting! But the audition process is still painful. When you give your all and it's just not what the director was looking for, it smarts. It's very hard not to take it personally. But you live with it and eventually, eventually it's fine.

Anyway. I'm in The Pillowman. Which is a great play, a favorite of mine, really. If you haven't seen or read the play, my part will be somewhat weird to have explained, but I'll give it my best college try. So, this writer, Katurian, lives in a dystopian society. He's arrested because a series of grisly child murders echo his stories. Throughout the play, his stories are presented to the audience. I'll act them out through movement along with three other actors.

Okay. I dropped my elective. The political satire performance composition. Not enough time, too much work, now I can sleep in which to me means sleeping until 7 instead of 6.

I'm selling things on eBay in lieu of a job. Not enough time, too much work, sleeping in till 7.

What's up with yous guys? Anything new or good or bad or just plain boring?

What a Day, What a Day

Firstly, I saw/touched/photographed Anna Wintour tonight.

Secondly, I am allowing myself to make this a semi-fashion blog. Not a full one, but a semi one. Fashion is such a great component of my life that leaving it out would be dishonest.

Thirdly, Michael Chabon is God's gift to readers. If I ever have that mythical first big paycheck, I'm going to a tailor and having this made: "The jacket was the color of the sky over Prague Castle on a clear winter night. The trousers were also a glossy, coal-dark blue, piped with a bright gold stripe. And affixed to one of the satiny black lapels was a small golden pin in the shape of a skeleton key." How fucking beautiful is that shit?

Fourthly, studio was great. My new section is perfection - I am so pleased with the way things turned out. This semester is going to consist of Voice (singing! Yeep!), Afro-Haitian Dance, and Meisner. It's so amazing. If any of you have the opportunity to come out here, you have to sit in on a class.

Fifthly, I love Political Satire. It's gonna challenge me, terrify me, force me to be uncomfortable. Which makes it a perfect course.

Sixthly, I'm very excited for Gay and Lesbian Performance Studies and Theatre in Indonesia. They sound tremendously interesting and will provide enough work to keep me occupied.

Finally (seventhly), I miss you all, but am very happy and am hoping you all feel the same.

Post-Script (eighthly), thank you, Nick, for commenting. You others have a lot to live up to and so far you're about as good as shit when it comes to commenting. Leave me something to read, to look forward to at the end of a long day, Fuckers. I love you. :)

School School School

Yesterday was my first day of real college classes. I'm not sure how I feel about them as of yet. I think I'll love them, once I've stopped being terrified of them. It's a wee bit intimidating to work with upperclassman whom you had admired (read: stalked on Facebook) last year. It's also intimidating to take a Political Satire Course wherein you are required to sing. Every Tuesday and Thursday. In front of said Facebook stalkees. When you are not a singer.

The class itself is quite fun already though. At the end of the term, we'll be putting on a Political Satire cabaret, which would look quite nice ensconced on my résumé so maybe that'll make up for shitting my pants on a Tues/Thurs basis.

I'm also taking Theatre in Indonesia and (hopefully; I'm still waitlisted at this point) Gay and Lesbian Performance Studies. I feel I'm maybe just a bit predictable. But that's all right; this course load will be great.

Studio starts today. Like in an hour. I'm so ready to be back in it. I don't know, it's such an indescribable feeling, being there. Which would make sense, because so much of what we learn comes from a nonverbal place.

Also, I apologize for my lack of photos this post. Bennie runs on double-A batteries and I was too lazy and poor to go out and buy a new pair.

Okay, I should get ready. I would say wish me luck, but failing is just as good as succeeding.

!!!

So I bought a camera today. His name is Benicio Del Toro (I don't particularly like the actor, the name just felt right) and he is beautiful. He's a Canon Powershot SX120 and my sister recommended him to me. What a beaut.

Anyway, he's totally handy - now I can actually photo-document my life. So you can see how boring it is on celluloid as well as words (actually, it's digital, so I guess you're witnessing it through the magic of fiber optics and other scientific what-have-you nonsense).

So I started by taking a picture of him (with me in the background). He's pretty, no? And he takes such good photos. I'm technologically inept (this blog is quite a feat to me), but like foundation on acne-scarred skin, he hides all of my blemishes. God bless his little electronic heart.

Anyway, I have much to show you. My room is almost as beautiful as The Bull (that's Benicio's nickname, as is Bennie) and I have proof. PHOTOGRAPHIC PROOF WHAT? Behold its roomy glory:

It's pretty great, as you can see (ha!). I shouldn't be this proud, but it's such an accomplishment for me.

Anyway, I'm making new friends, which is great, because as some of you know, I had some problems with a few of my older friends being unreliable and whatnot. It seems that these new folk are bit more dependable, which is completely welcomed.

I can't think of anything particularly profound to say, so I'll leave it at this: I am happy (for now? forever, hopefully) and that is what counts.

Oh, and here is an obligatory IHAVEACAMERANOWI'LLTAKEAPHOTOOFMYSELFINTHEMIRROR photo:

Post-Script: Please join blogspot so you can comment. They'll keep me going when I think no one is reading.

Post-Post-Script: Since I am technologically inept (as mentioned above), this post is ugly and the photos are not in a horizontal row. But I'm proud that there are any photos. :)

So after that melodramatic last post, I'm already settled in. The new room isn't quite home yet, but it's certainly on its way.

I'm excited to be back, thrilled even. Soho is so beautiful, and I'm right on the edge of China Town and Little Italy, too (perfect, right?). There's so much to do, it's almost overwhelming. Last night, while with some friends in a different dorm, I met four foreign exchange students and we had an accidental cookie party. It was quite nice, really.

I can't exactly recall what I've done in the past few days though ... A day here lasts for three elsewhere. It's crazy what can be accomplished, or not accomplished, for that matter. I'm trying to start a regular exercise regimen as well as eating healthfully, not because I feel fat, but because I want to be in shape.

I think this always happens with the advent of the new school year. It's like I feel some obligation to better myself, like it's necessitated by my circumstances. But this time, I want to make it stick. And I can; I have everything I need to do it within my reach, so why not?

Plus, when I'm all taut skin and toned muscle, the boys will practically be throwing themselves at my feet. Okay, so that's another thing about New York. We have no lack of good-looking men. Or women, but men are the ones that matter.

One thing should really be mentioned. It's hard to verbalize this, so bear with me. Over the summer, things (ahhh, to be young and vague in New York City) really crystallized for me. I found myself understanding my wants and my needs. It wasn't like a lightbulb moment, where everything became clear; rather, it was gradual, and unconscious. I wasn't actively sorting things out so much as letting it happen and not resisting.

Among those things, and a particularly important one to me, is how I'm perceived by others. I've stopped (maybe not fully, but much more so than before) worrying about the image I outwardly project and am secure in it. This is of course quite helpful in talking to people, boys especially. But I've also come not to expect things from boys, or anyone for that matter - not to place preemptive expectations on others that could potentially let me down.

So for now, I'm enjoying my free time, with or without others, not expecting anything from anyone except only the best from myself. And I can honestly say that I'm happy, in a quiet sort of way.

I arrived in New York two days ago. I moved in yesterday. All around me are boxes, stacks of clothing, newspaper-wrapped ceramic. I have no intention of yet unpacking. It's too soon, the wound hasn't healed and the ripping the bandaid off would just allow for infection. All right, that was dramatic, but my point is honest. I love it here. But I'm already missing home. Friends, my house, my family (despite the fact that I will be seeing my parents in a matter of mere minutes).

Unpacking all my belongings in a place that is so far (and so far from being called) home seems wrong at this juncture. I'm waiting for things to settle in. So it's good my roommate (or, being that I live on Broome Street, my Broommate) doesn't move in until Saturday.

I will be certain to post pictures once I buy a camera. It's a beautiful room - hardwood floors, giant windows, tiled bathroom, walk-in closet. I'm excited to live here. But it'll take some getting used to, some familiarty before I'm ready to relinquish the name of home.

Right now, the subway is rumbling by underneath my feet. It's a Monday morning, so the trains come fast and frequent. I think I'm almost used to it now. There's something pleasant about it - it's very romantic, classic New York really.

I don't know what to say. I'm nervous and excited and sad, but most of all I am hopeful.

Three Things

1. I used to have this theory. You see, when I was younger, I was nice, caring, considerate and tender-hearted even. I cooed over stuffed animals, I cried when someone else was hurt, I was a sweet young whelp. And then somewhere along the lines, possibly middle school, I toughened up. I got mean and mean fast.

I tend to think that it's because I'm gay and felt the need to thicken my skin, not let anyone take me for an easy mark. So my tongue became a weapon, and anyone close to me my unfortunate target. I was a bitch, still am.

But I can't seem to reconcile myself to that fact. I hate that I'm mean. Really, I do, and I've been trying to be nicer. It may not seem like it at all, but I censor myself. There are horrible things in my head that will never see light of day because of common decency. I keep hoping that one day the thoughts will be gone and I can take the filter out of my mouth, but so far no such luck.

Now, in an effort to get packed and have my room generally presentable while I'm away, I've begun the disgusting and often shameful process of cleaning (up and out) my room. About half way through a box of old papers, I came across an essay I had written in sixth grade. We were working on comparing and contrasting two like subjects. My subjects were my sister and my neighbor.

The way I feel about Mik is well documented; I love her, think the world of her, wish her nothing but the best. This is the same sentiment I hold for Jillian, the neighbor. But reading back through this essay, some things about my presumed past were clarified, so to speak. The topic of my first body paragraph is how stupid the two of them can be. The second, how mean they are.

So maybe I wasn't so nice when I was younger. Maybe I wasn't this paragon of goodliness. Maybe I've always been a bitch. Maybe I'm gonna use this to justify future bitch-assness: "I can't help it, I was born this way."

It's nice to know, that with all this change going on around me, some things will always remain the same.

2. Because I'm both a bitch and vain, look at this picture Mikaela took of me!

I like it a) because of the composure - that orange against the blue ombre b) the jacket is Alexander McQueen and the shirt is a cheapie AmApp and they go so well together (not a fashion blog, I swear) c) my hair looks like Moz's.

3. Because I'm a bitch and vain but also have good taste, watch this video of Peej's new work: